Sony a7S Vs Nikon DF – What Camera Is Better?

Hey guys! Today we’re going to be comparing two interesting cameras- Sony a7S Vs Nikon DF. Released in April 2014, the Sony a7S was labeled as a professional mirrorless camera. The Nikon DF, on the other hand, which was released 5 months earlier in December 2013, was labeled as a semi-pro DSLR camera.

This comparison is going to be an interesting one because of the ongoing, never-ending debate between mirrorless cameras and DSLR cameras. Most of the time, choosing a DSLR and a mirrorless camera is down to personal preference and what exactly you want to use the camera for as these two camera types have their specialties.

If you do not have the time to read through the entire article, check out the comparison overview below. The comparison overview provides you with all the information you would need to help you decide what camera is better for you between Sony a7S Vs Nikon DF.

Click here to buy the Sony a7S on Amazon now.
Click here to buy the Nikon DF on Amazon now.

Table of Contents

Comparison Overview — Sony a7S Vs Nikon DF

Presently, most professionally see these two cameras are semi-pro cameras. The Sony a7S is a mirrorless camera while the Nikon DF is a DSLR camera. While that it is a major difference between these two cameras, they’re so different, that you would hardly remember that one difference.

Check the comparison table below to find a brief comparison between the features of Sony a7S Vs Nikon DF. One thing we must point out though, is that while the Sony a7S shoots 4K video, the Nikon DF does not have a video mode.

So, if you want to shoot video, definitely pick the Sony a7S. The one part where both of these are usually compared is low-light performance. But looking at the difference in ISO range, you can easily tell that Sony a7S wins in that category too.

The two categories where the Nikon DF does better than the Sony a7S are battery life and maximum sensor resolution. So, if you shoot for a long time in daylight, you know what camera is better for you.

Which has the better price-value ratio: Sony a7S or Nikon DF?

Looking at the price of the Sony a7S and the Nikon DF, we think that you can get better and more modern cameras for the same price. Which makes us say that these do not have a very good price to performance ratio. Anyway, of the two, the Sony camera has the better ratio.

Brand Comparison — Sony a7S Vs Nikon DF

Both of these brands are Japanese. Sony is a more widespread brand that’s involved in the production of many different things in different areas. Nikon, on the other hand, is only involved in the production of optics and imaging products.

When it comes to cameras, Nikon is the bigger brand when you talk about DSLR cameras. On the other hand, Sony is the bigger brand when you talk about mirrorless cameras.

Comparison Table — Sony a7S Vs Nikon DF

 

Sony a7S

Nikon DF

Announcement Date 6th April 2014 20th December 2013
Maximum Sensor Resolution 12 megapixels 16 megapixels
ISO 100 – 409600 100 – 12800
Viewfinder Electronic Optical
Continuous Shooting Rate 5 frames per second 6 frames per second
Maximum Video Resolution 3840 x 2160 (4K Video) No Video Mode
Wireless Connection Yes Optional
Articulating Screen Yes No
Weight 489g 760g
Microphone port Yes No
Headphone port Yes No
Battery Life 360 shots 1400 shots
Top LCD No Yes
Flash Sync Port No Yes

Prices pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:

What Scenario Is What Camera Best For — Sony a7S Vs Nikon DF?

Sony a7S

Nikon DF

The Sony a7S is the better camera, compared to the Nikon DF, if you want to record video. Well, the first reason is because you cannot record video with the Nikon DF.  

Apart from that the Sony a7S also goes ahead to add certain significant features that makes it a beast when it comes to videoing.
The Nikon DF does not beat the Sony a7S in a lot of categories. However, the biggest category where it beats the Sony a7S is in bright-light still photography.  

The Nikon DF comes with a 16-megapixel sensor. For most, a 16-megapixel sensor is enough. It’ll get you great photos.  
The first of which is “4K video”. The Sony a7S allows you to shoot video with a maximum resolution of 3840 x 2160, otherwise known as 4K video.  

With this type of quality, you get very clear videos that make you stand out from the competition.
Furthermore, you’ll be able to zoom into the picture, crop things out a bit, and still get great shots without the pictures pixelated.  

It also comes with a top LCD screen that allows you access camera’s settings easily.
Other peripherals that make this camera great for recording videos are:     
 
– Microphone port to get great audio using an external microphone.   

– Articulating screen to give you good image framing when shooting from awkward angles.
Another scenario where this camera is a lot better than the Sony a7S is battery life. This camera comes with a battery life of 1400 shots.  

This will allow you shoot for a very long time, without having to recharge the camera or change its batteries.
Another scenario where this camera is best is shooting in low-light. The Sony a7S comes with a really wide ISO range.  

With this, you can get good light sensitivity with your camera. This will then help you capture really bright photos, even in low-light.
 
Click here to buy the Sony a7S on Amazon now.
Click here to buy the Nikon DF on Amazon now.

Features Common To Both Cameras — Sony a7S Vs Nikon DF

Here are the features common to both the Sony a7S and the Nikon DF:

i. External flash hot shoe

ii. Viewfinder

iii. RAW support

iv. Face detection focus

v. Weather sealing

vi. Auto exposure bracketing

We will now look at each of these features individually here:

External Flash Shoe

An external flash shoe is a small pocket that allows you attach an on-camera flash to your digital camera. This will enable you get better lighting for when you’re shooting in low-light. It is also great for flash photography.

Viewfinder

Both of these cameras come with viewfinders. Although these viewfinders are completely different, they do share a host of similarities. The first similarity that both of these viewfinders share is that they use the same optical system as the camera itself.

Using the same optical system as the camera means that you avoid errors caused by parallax. This ensures that the frame you see with the viewfinder is exactly the same frame you see when you take the picture.

Not all digital cameras come with viewfinders. The cameras that do not, use their LCD screens to frame your photos and videos. The problem with this is that the LCD screens that come with cameras are usually not bright.

This means that it will be very difficult to use the LCD screen when the surrounding is very bright. So, if you’re going to be shooting outside when the sun is out, you won’t be able to shoot properly without a viewfinder.

Now that we’ve seen the similarities and the benefits that both of these viewfinders share, let’s now look at the differences.

Electronic Viewfinder (Sony a7S)

An electronic viewfinder usually comes with a mirrorless camera. In a mirrorless camera, light is transmitted to the to the viewfinder through the camera’s electronic sensor. When the light hits this sensor, it converts it to a digital image which is then transmitted to the viewfinder to be seen by the photographer.

The best thing about electronic viewfinders is that what you’re seeing is a processed image. So, changes made to settings like exposure, ISO, and focus, can be seen using the viewfinder. With an optical viewfinder, you would need to capture the image first, before you can see how the exposure and light settings affect the image.

The one thing people do not like about electronic viewfinders is that they require a lot of power to function. Looking at the fact that mirrorless cameras already come with terrible battery life, this is a huge disadvantage.

Optical Viewfinder (Nikon DF)

Optical viewfinders are found in DSLRs. In a DSLR, light is transmitted from the camera’s lens, then bounces off a mirror and pentaprism, before it’s sent to the viewfinder. So, with an optical viewfinder, what you see is raw light, exactly how the camera sees it.

The problem with this type of viewfinder is that you have to understand all the camera’s settings properly to be able to get great shots. With electronic viewfinders, you just need to know the basics and then tweak things as you go, while seeing the visual changes.

With optical viewfinders, you have to fully understand how every single change affects the image. With light sensitivity, you’ll have to understand how to read the light meter. Even when you understand it fully, it can’t be compared to actually seeing the image getting brighter and darker as you edit the settings.

The best thing about optical viewfinders is that they do not need power to function. This means that they do not consume any sort of power. This will keep extend the battery life of the DSLR, which is already pretty impressive on its own.

RAW Storage Support

Both of these cameras allow you to save images in their original format. All digital cameras originally capture images in RAW format. However, not all cameras allow you to save images in this format. Cameras that do not allow you save in this format will first edit the image, compress it, and then convert it into JPEG to be stored by the camera.

This process reduces the image quality of the picture. However, if you do save the picture in the RAW format, you’ll get the highest quality available which is best for editing purposes.

One thing you have to worry about is storage space. RAW images are uncompressed so they are very large. You need to have a lot of storage space if you’re going to be shooting RAW images.

Face Detection Focus

This feature is a very simple one. However, once it’s utilized frequently, it’s very easy to love. With face detection focus your camera automatically sees a face that’s in the frame and focuses on it. It’s best if you take a lot of portrait shots.

Environmental Sealing

If you’re going to shooting outside a lot, you definitely want this feature on your camera. With environmental sealing, these two cameras- Sony a7S Vs Nikon DF, are protected from both moisture and dust. With this feature, your camera is protected from rain and wind.

AE Bracketing

Getting the exposure right is one of the most important things in photography. In fact, most of the times, a wrongly exposed image looks very bad. However, the fact that getting the exposure right on an image is so important, doesn’t make it any easier to achieve. If anything, it even makes it more tasking.

This is why photographers developed something called “the exposure bracket”. The exposure bracket refers to a group of images of the same scene captured by the photographer with different exposure settings. To manually create an exposure bracket, you would need to snap all the pictures individually, changing the exposure settings after each shot.

As you can already tell, this too is quite a tedious and stressful job. To make it a lot easier, camera manufacturers created the auto exposure bracket. This basically means that your camera automatically creates the exposure bracket for you.

With this, all you have to do is initially set all the exposure settings you want to try for that particular scene. This usually ranges from underexposed to overexposed, in equal margin. Once you’ve set that, you would then need to click on the shutter button just once and the camera would automatically save the different images with the different exposure settings.

Apart from helping you to create exposure brackets easier and faster, AE bracketing also gives room for HDR images. An HDR image is created by joining all the images in an auto-exposure bracket, to form one perfectly exposed image.

Without auto exposure bracketing, this would not be possible as the different images in a manual exposure bracket differ slightly because they’re taken at different times.

Click here to buy the Sony a7S on Amazon now.
Click here to buy the Nikon DF on Amazon now.

Features Unique To Each Camera — Sony a7S Vs Nikon DF

Mirrorless vs DSLR: Sony a7S vs Nikon DF

The first and the biggest difference between these two cameras — Sony a7S Vs Nikon DF — is that the Sony a7S is a mirrorless camera, while the Nikon DF is a DSLR camera.

The first mirrorless camera was made in 2004. However, it was not until 2008 when Panasonic made its first that these cameras started gaining public attention. The main aim of mirrorless cameras is to provide a camera with similar quality to DSLRs but in a more portable package.

Which is why this camera type replaced the bulky mirrors and pentaprisms in the traditional DSLR for a much smaller electronic sensor. This electronic sensor is responsible for converting the light that gets into the camera through its lens to a digital image.

This digital image is then passed on to a small display at the top of the camera, which is seen through the electronic viewfinder. Being more portable, mirrorless cameras are great for travelers, vloggers, and event photographers. Basically, anyone who likes to keep their camera kit as small and compact as possible.

Apart from being small and lightweight, another way where mirrorless cameras benefit from this change from mirrors to electronic sensors is in speed. When we say “speed”, we’re talking about shutter speed. Most of the time, mirrorless cameras have faster shutter speeds than DSLRs.

This is because, when you press the shutter button on the DSLR, the mirror inside has to flip up so light can get to the camera’s electronic sensor. For mirrorless cameras, light is always hitting the electronic sensor. So, when the shutter button is clicked, no movement is needed, so, it’s a lot faster.

Where Mirrorless Cameras Get It Wrong

While talking about how great mirrorless cameras are, we cannot forget to mention their downsides. The biggest downside of mirrorless cameras comes as a result of what makes them so great, their small size.

To make them as small as they are, mirrorless cameras feature smaller batteries than DSLRs. When it comes to batteries, the bigger it is, the more capacity it carries, and vice versa. So, the smaller batteries in mirrorless cameras have smaller capacities.

You can see this is in every mirrorless camera, including the Sony a7S. That camera has a battery life of 360 shots per full charge, which is just sad.

Apart from their small batteries, another reason why mirrorless cameras have small batteries is because they depend a lot on power for many functionalities. While DSLRs have more mechanical features, mirrorless cameras have more electronic features.

These electronic features include the electronic viewfinder, the LCD screen, and the electronic sensor. Although DSLRs also come with electronic sensors, they don’t consume as much power because they do not need to be on all the time. With mirrorless cameras, the electronic sensors need to be on all the time for you to be able to use the viewfinder.

DSLRs, on the other hand, have been the photographer’s trusted choice for a long time, for both still photos and videos. That’s because of how much quality is packed into these cameras, all round.

However, that place in the photographer’s heart has recently been contested by mirrorless cameras. For reasons we have already mentioned earlier. But as we have mentioned there, mirrorless cameras aren’t perfect. There are still a few reasons why it would be better to pick a DSLR over a mirrorless camera.

The first reason is the battery life. DSLRs have a better battery life than mirrorless cameras. So, if you want something that’ll last the whole day, you want a DSLR. You can see that playing out in the Sony a7S Vs Nikon DF comparison as the Nikon DF has a battery life of 1400 shots, while the Sony a7S has a battery life of just 360 shots.

Another reason why a DSLR would be better in some cases is “ergonomics”. If you’re a sports photographer, wildlife photographer, or you do any type of photography that requires you to use large lenses, you definitely want a DSLR camera.

This is because, large lenses are quite heavy and on a mirrorless camera that’s lightweight, it’s cause imbalance. With a DSLR, the weight of the camera will balance out the weight of the lenses, making it easier for you to keep it steady.

Finally, autofocus. Although this is debatable, DSLRs have a specific autofocus sensor. Because of this, they have faster autofocus speeds than mirrorless cameras that depend on their electronic sensor to auto-focus.

It’s only debatable because the technology in the most modern mirrorless cameras make the electronic sensor fast enough to have good auto-focusing speeds. However, that technology is only available in the most modern and high-end mirrorless cameras.

Click here to buy the Sony a7S on Amazon now.
Click here to buy the Nikon DF on Amazon now.

Which comes with built-in Wi-Fi: Sony a7S vs Nikon DF?

The Sony a7S comes with built-in Wi-Fi. This wireless connection allows this camera to pair with other devices in the same network, and transfer files without any wires or removing and putting SD cards. Furthermore, the it allows you to connect to the internet. This means that you can seamlessly upload your photos and videos straight from your camera to social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and so on.

If your primary audience is on social media, you definitely want a way to get to them as quickly as possible and that is what this wireless connection provides. Apart from that, being able to upload directly to the internet means that you can store your photos and videos on the cloud, for safe-keeping. With that, you can rest assured that any damage or corruption to the SD card will not erase your work.

Furthermore, this camera comes with NFC connection. With NFC connection, you can pair your camera with other NFC enabled devices simply by placing them close to each other. Once these two devices are paired initially, they would automatically connect to each other once they’re close to each other.

One cool feature that comes with the wireless connection of this camera is smartphone remote control. You can use your smartphone as a remote control for your camera. This gives you an easier way to navigate through the camera’s settings and provides you with a remote shutter.

Which is better for flexible shooting: Sony a7S or Nikon DF?

The Sony a7S has an articulating screen, this makes it the better camera for flexible shooting. This camera more specifically comes with a tilting screen which is mainly important for when you’re recording a video, or when you need to capture a shot from an awkward angle. With an articulating screen, you will be able to continue framing your shots properly from different angles where it won’t be easy to keep using your viewfinder to frame the shots.

As opposed to a fixed LCD screen which the Nikon DF comes with, an articulating screen is joined to the camera using a pivot system. This is what allows the screen to turn and tilt to different angles.

If what you’re looking for is a selfie screen, this is not it. Although this turns to different angles, it doesn’t turn all the way to face yourself for a selfie or a self-recording video.

Which is better for audio recording: Sony a7S or Nikon DF?

The Sony a7S comes with an external microphone port. This feature makes the a7S the better camera to record audio with. In fact, you cannot even record videos with the Nikon DF, so, it is not surprising that it does not come with this feature.

If you’ve ever used the built-in microphone on a camera, you’ll understand that, most times, they’re just not good enough. To get the best audio out of your camera, you would most times need to use an external microphone.

In addition to being compatible with external microphones, the Sony a7S also allows you use headphones to monitor your sound while you record.

Which shoots video: Sony a7S or Nikon DF?

The Sony a7S has the ability to shoot 4K video. Meanwhile, the Nikon DF cannot even shoot video at all. So, if you will ever need to record video with your camera, you definitely want to pick up the Sony a7S.

4K video is a very high resolution. This means that you get more vibrant and sharp colors. Two things you must take not of before shooting 4K video, though:

  • 4K videos are very large. If you want to shoot 4K video, make sure there’s space in your storage device to save the videos.
  • Make sure you have a computer with a processing power that’s strong enough to process 4K video, for the purpose of editing.

As you might already be able to tell, the Sony a7S is more of a film camera than a photography camera. So, we think you’ll want to see a review about the camera from a filmmaker’s perspective. If you do, check out the video below:

Which is better for flash photography: Sony a7S or Nikon DF?

Although the Sony a7S and the Nikon DF each come with an external flash hot shoe, only the Nikon DF comes with a flash sync port which allows you to connect off-camera flashes. This is what makes the Nikcon DF the better camera for flash photography.

Which comes with a top LCD screen: Sony a7S or Nikon DF?

The Nikon DF comes with a top LCD which makes it easier and faster to access the camera’s settings while you shoot.

We’re sure at this point you would want to see what using this camera feels like, alongside some preview photos to go with it. Well, watch the video below:

Click here to buy the Sony a7S on Amazon now.
Click here to buy the Nikon DF on Amazon now.

Unique Pros — Sony a7S Vs Nikon DF

Pros of the Sony a7S

  • With the built-in wireless connection that comes with this camera, you get easier and faster file transfer. You can also upload your files straight to the internet.
  • The articulating screen on this camera is a great framing option for recording videos and taking pictures from awkward angles.
  • With a maximum ISO of 409,600, this camera works well in all lighting situations.
  • This camera, being a mirrorless camera, is lightweight. It weighs just 489g.
  • This camera comes with a microphone port that allows you to record great audio with your camera, using an external microphone.
  • It also comes with a headphone port that allows you to connect a headphone which you’ll use to monitor the audio that is being recorded by the microphone.
  • This camera shoots 4K video, which is simply, superb.
  • It has an AE bracketing range of +/- 5, which is more than the +/- 3 available on the Nikon DF.

Pros of the Nikon DF

  • This camera comes with a 16-megapixel sensor. This provides you with 33% more pixels than the 12-megapixel sensor on the Sony a7S. This translates to more detailed photos.
  • The battery life of this camera is incredible! You can take as many as 1400 shots per full charge with this camera.
  • It has a higher color depth than the Sony a7S.
  • A top LCD allows you to quickly and easily access the camera’s settings.
  • With the flash sync port on this camera, you can connect it to an off-camera flash for better lighting.
Click here to buy the Sony a7S on Amazon now.
Click here to buy the Nikon DF on Amazon now.

Unique Cons — Sony a7S Vs Nikon DF

Cons of the Sony a7S

  • It comes with only 12 megapixels. This means that you don’t get great detailing on your shots. Furthermore, you wouldn’t be able to crop, or zoom in, or print large sheets of the image as you would want.
  • The battery life of this camera is abysmal at just 360 shots per full charge.
  • There is no flash sync port. This means that you can’t sync your camera to an off-camera flash.

Cons of the Nikon DF

  • No wireless connection so you cannot upload files to the internet. Also, you cannot wirelessly transfer files from your camera to other devices.
  • This device doesn’t have an articulating screen. It’ll be difficult to frame your shots when you’re shooting from awkward angles.
  • The maximum ISO available on this camera is 12,800, which is very small, compared to what is available on the Sony a7S.
  • No video mode on this camera. That’s just sad.
  • The Nikon DF weighs 760g, which is quite heavy.

Check out these other articles:

Common Pros — Sony a7S Vs Nikon DF

 

Sony a7S

Nikon DF

External Flash Shoe Both of these cameras come with an external flash shoe. This helps you to connect your camera to an on-camera flash.  

The on-camera flash provides you with extra lighting necessary for certain shots.
Same as the Sony a7S
Viewfinder Both of these cameras come with a viewfinder. With a viewfinder, you’re able to frame your shots properly.   Also, both of the viewfinders used by these two cameras do not suffer error due to parallax. This is because, they use the same optical system as the camera’s lens.  

Although these two cameras come with viewfinders, they come with different types of viewfinders. This camera, the Sony a7S, comes with an electronic viewfinder.
This camera comes with an optical viewfinder.
RAW Storage Support Both of these cameras allow you to save your images in their RAW format. This means that you get the highest quality, uncompressed images. Same as the Sony a7S
Face Detection Focus With this feature, your camera automatically finds a face that’s in the frame of the picture and focuses on it. Same as the Sony a7S
Good Continuous Shooting Rate The Sony a7S can shoot up to 5 frames per second, which is good enough for a semi-pro camera. The Nikon DF does slightly better as it shoots 6 frames per second.
Environmental Sealing With this feature, both of these cameras are covered from both rain and wind because they’re moisture and dust resistant. Same as the Sony a7S
AE Bracketing With auto exposure bracketing, it’s easier to create exposure brackets, and less stressful.  

Furthermore, you can create HDR images that are basically
Same as the Sony a7S
Click here to buy the Sony a7S on Amazon now.
Click here to buy the Nikon DF on Amazon now.

Sony a7S Vs Nikon DF – Common Cons

  Sony a7S Nikon DF
No Image Stabilization If you use either of these cameras to record a video, you absolutely need a camera stabilizer.  

This is because neither of these cameras comes with image stabilization.  

Without image stabilization, your videos will appear shaky and blurry if it shakes, even mildly.
Same as the Sony a7S.
No Touchscreen These are more tactile, old-school cameras. The LCD screens that these cameras come with do not feature touchscreen.  

This means that you have to click buttons to navigate through the menus, which is a lot slower than using touchscreen.
Same as the Sony a7S.
No Built-in Bluetooth Although the Sony a7S comes with wireless connection, it does not come with built-in Bluetooth connectivity. Same as the Sony a7S.
No Internal Flash When it comes to portability, these two cameras do not get it to the “T”.  

This is because, neither of these cameras come with an internal flash. That means you always have to carry an external flash with you if you need extra light for your photos.
Same as the Sony a7S.
Single Card Slot This camera comes with only memory card slot. This means that you do not get storage flexibility.  

If your storage gets full mid-way through a shoot, you’ll have to completely change it to another one, which is not very professional.
Same as the Sony a7S.

General Feeling Amongst Users — Sony a7S Vs Nikon DF

Sony a7S Nikon DF
People really loved this camera, most especially filmmakers. With 4K video, you get great quality video with a high resolution.  

They also loved the fact that it came with a headphone port. With this headphone port, people were able to connect a headphone and monitor the audio that they were recording with their microphone.
This camera is also one that’s very loved, even in this present day. Considering how long ago this was released, you can tell how good it had to be to stay in the market for this long.  

This camera took a lot of good shots for many people, in both light and day.    
Another great reason why people loved this camera was because of its specialty “night shots”. This camera is very popular for taking incredible night shots. One thing people couldn’t stop commending about this camera is its battery life. The battery life of this camera lasted long enough for most people who used this camera. Honestly, if you want something that’ll last you the whole day, this is the camera for you.
So, a lot of people advise that if you’re going to be capturing a lot of night shots or low-light shots, you definitely want to pick up this camera.  

This low-light accuracy is because of its wide ISO range and its low sensor resolution. The problem with many other cameras in low-light is that they have high maximum sensor resolution (megapixels).  

With just 12 megapixels, this camera does not show a lot of noise on photos when you increase the ISO. This is why it’s great at taking night shots.  
Although this camera is not the best when it comes to low-light photography, it does provide options, which is something people loved.   The most notable of these options is the flash sync port.

This was great for people who do a lot of flash photography or studio photography and needed all the light they could get.  

The flash sync port helped them to connect their camera to an off-camera flash, which provides enough extra light.
Click here to buy the Sony a7S on Amazon now.
Click here to buy the Nikon DF on Amazon now.

What Do We Think — Sony a7S Vs Nikon DF?

We’ve finally come to the end of this Sony a7S Vs Nikon DF comparison. The decision is up to you, definitely. However, if we were to pick, we’ll go for the Sony a7S. Yes, it does cost more than the Nikon DF but the fact that the Nikon DF doesn’t shoot video at all is just something we can’t get over.

As much as it might feel like you don’t need video mode now, you might need it in the future and then you’ll have to spend a whole lot to get a new camera. Penny wise, pound foolish, if you ask us.

Click here to buy the Sony a7S on Amazon now.
Click here to buy the Nikon DF on Amazon now.

Sony a7S Vs Nikon DF — FAQs

Is the Nikon DF worth it?

The Nikon DF was released in 2013, so, it is surely not a modern camera at all. But this camera costs close to 3000 bucks, so, the question is: is this camera really worth that much? This camera does pretty well in so many departments, but the fact that it does not shoot video leaves a huge question mark on its general performance.

Also, for a camera that costs this much, surely many expected more than 16 megapixels of maximum sensor resolution. It also does not have wireless connection. So, the Nikon DF is not a bad camera, but is it worth that much money? Probably not.

Is the Nikon DF good for video?

The Nikon DF is not a good camera to record videos with and that it simply because it cannot even record videos in the first place. Yes, this camera does not have a video mode, which is a pretty absurd thing for an advanced, high-end, DSLR camera.

Of course, this will come as really disappointing news to photographers, because even if your primary need for a camera is not to record videos, you may want to record some short clips every now and then. And surely, you would expect that a camera you spent nearly 3000 dollars on would be able to produce full HD videos for you, at least.

Is the Nikon DF good for flash photography?

Although the Nikon DF does not come with a built-in flash, it does a pretty good job in flash photography. This camera comes with a hot shoe on which an external flash can be mounted.

It gets even more interesting because the Nikon DF also comes with a sync port which allows you connect off-camera flashes. And you know, whatever results regular external flashes can produce in flash photography, an off-camera flash will do even better. Well, you can use these two with this camera, so, you’re good.

Is the Nikon DF’s battery good?

The Nikon DF’s battery is one of the stand out things about the camera. Per full charge of this camera’s battery, you can take up to 1400 shots, which is really impressive.

Well, DSLR cameras and Nikon cameras, as well, are known to almost always have amazing batteries. So, this camera being both of those things, this battery performance is not very surprising now, is it?

Anyway, some people argue that with the price of the Nikon DF, the 1400 shots per full charge of its battery is just expected. Well, tell that to a mirrorless camera of that price.

Is the Nikon DF good in low light?

The Nikon DF is compatible with external flashes and off-camera flashes, so, of course, it is good in low light. Well, aside from that, you know a wide ISO range means that the camera does in low light, even without a flash.

Now, the Nikon DF’s 100 – 12800 ISO range is not exactly one you can call wide, at least, not for a camera of this level. But this camera sort of makes up for that; the ISO range is further expandable to 50 – 204800. Now, that is a range you can call wide. And yes, it will be getting you some pretty bright images in low light.

Is the Nikon DF good for sports photography?

The Nikon DF actually does pretty great in sports photography. It does not have the fastest continuous shooting (6 frames per second), but it has a pretty fast mechanical shutter (1/4000s), 39 focus points, and pretty great ergonomics. So, for sure, the Nikon DF won’t be doing so badly in sports photography.

And if it is an outdoor sport, the Nikon DF is weather sealed and comes with a pentaprism optical viewfinder, so, you will be able to shoot conveniently still.

Not to forget the long lasting battery which will ensure that you can keep shooting for a long time. Also, its impressive low light performance for when the lighting is bad.